Saint Patrick’s Day 2023: myths, truths and important symbols of the celebration

This Friday March 17 It is the day that everyone should take out their green clothes, as well as the different accessories that you have from yourclover or leprechauns, as well as drinking a lot of beersince it is celebrated Saint Patrick’s day.

Despite the fact that Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, the United States also has a lot of devotion to this European saint, mainly due to the wave of migrants from that country who arrived, mainly in the mid-19th century.

This celebration is filled with various symbols, some of them surrounded by a special mystique that has been transmitted from generation to generation, creating around them a series of myths that have nothing to do with reality.

We will explain to you right away what are the main symbols of St. Patrick’s Day, as well as their meaning.

The 5 most used and well-known symbols on Saint Patrick’s Day

1) Goblins

Surely when you think of this celebration, the first thing that comes to mind is the figure of the green leprechaun who carries a pot full of gold coins. As it turns out, this figure (also known as leprechaun) is one of the oldest symbols associated with Ireland.

Originally, it was believed that these beings were a sign of good luck for human beings and that they even protected them, although there could be some who did evil to them. The oldest written reference to this creature is found in a medieval story about three goblins who drag the king of Ulster (northern Ireland) into the ocean.

But the figure of the goblin gained relevance in the 19th century, where he was represented as a grumpy shoemaker who lived in solitude, dressed in red and jealously guarded a treasure, a very different representation from the one we know today of the green goblin, cheerful and who lives at the end of the rainbow, where he distributes gold and is good luck.

This change is due to Walt Disney, who traveled to Ireland in the 60s to be inspired and create the film “Darby O’Gill & the little people”, whose protagonist was a trickster leprechaun dressed in green pants and coat, vest yellow and buckled shoes, a representation that was adopted for this festivity.

2) Clover

We see shamrocks (or 3-leaf clover) everywhere on St. Patrick’s Day; however, this plant does not exist in real life. Legend dates from the 16th century and tells that Saint Patrick used this shamrock to explain the idea of ​​the Holy Trinity.

In the 18th century, this plant was adopted as a symbol of Ireland’s struggle for independence from Great Britain, along with the color green.

3) Beer and green color

Because of the theme of shamrocks, St. Patrick’s Day is dyed green, including beer, something that was invented here in the United States.

It is said that its creator was the New York master of ceremonies and medical examiner Thomas H. Curtin, who in March 1914 organized a St. Patrick’s party with green decorations and beer.

Also, it was in 1962 when Chicago managed to dye its entire river green thanks to a plumber discovering that a substance used to detect leaks in it had it that tone. Since then, the city’s river has been “painted” green for the festivity for about 5 hours.

4) Harps

5) Corned beef y col

The typical dish on Saint Patrick’s Day is corned beef with cabbage, a 100% American tradition, since the Irish used to eat pork or beef because beef was only available to the rich.

In the 17th century, beef was Ireland’s main export. However, in 1666, English landowners demanded an end to the imports, claiming that it competed with their commercial interests. This drove down the price of Irish beef, so Ireland transformed its beef export industry into a beef preserving industry, using cheap salt to create corned beef, named for the corned beef grains. salt the size of corn (corn) that were used to make it.

Although most of the Irish could not afford their own produce and ate potatoes instead of meat, the nation became known for its corned beef. When Irish immigrants poured into the US in the mid-19th century, they became more prosperous than their predecessors, using their new money to buy salt beef from Jewish butchers and delicatessens.

It may interest you:

* Why St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with beer
* The 10 sandwiches in the United States that are on the list of the best 50 in the world in this 2023
* St. Patrick’s Day: What are the best types of Irish beer available in the US?